On 8 December 1920, Alexandre Millerand, the President of the Republic, unveiled an imposing concrete monument in the forest at Morchée. Designed by the architect A. Ventre, it houses the graves of seven unknown French infantrymen who died in 1916. The metallic door into this covered "trench" is the work of wrought-iron craftsman Edgard Brandt, who went on to create the bronze burner for the flame on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in 1923. Throughout the 1920s, the Registrar of War Graves and Births, Deaths and Marriages of the sixth military region dug up and exhumed this site, a locus of remembrance for the former members of the 137th Infantry Regiment who fought here. 21 Frenchmen were found, amongst them an unknown lieutenant. Not one of them was standing, rifle in hand, and the rusty guns on the ground served only to indicate the dead buried by the enemy in a shallow alleyway. The discovery of these disarmed bodies lying on the ground invalidated the myth of a still standing regiment buried alive by an aerial attack, a myth that several former soldiers from the 137th had themselves denied, but which somehow lives on, even to this day. 14 of these 21 bodies were identified and buried in the military cemetery at Fleury, and when that site became disused were buried together in the national necropolis at Douaumont. The seven remaining bodies were re-interred in the "trench," and, since their original arms had been taken during a raid, rifle carcasses and bayonets with broken blades were placed next to wooden Latin crosses.

Regional Tourist Board Tel: 0033 (0)3.29.45.78.40 Service des Nécropoles Nationales de Verdun 13, rue du 19ème BCP 55100 Verdun Tel: 0033 (0)3.29.86.02.96 Fax: 0033 (0)3.29.86.33.06 e-mail: mailto:diracmetz@wanadoo.fr

The battles of the Twentieth Century changed the shape of the world, but how many tears... ravaged countries... bereaved, mourning, defeated, sacrificed, seriously damaged nations.... Some of the Great War's Battles took place in la Meuse between 1914 and 1918. Our "sad souls" here are Verdun, the Argonne, Les Éparges, and the Saillant de St Mihiel... taking the time to discover them and understand them means that the memory of all the men that died here will live on.

As the years pass, the duty to remember becomes a duty to tell the story of what happened. The Germans had wanted to take the fortified town of Verdun from the very beginning of the war. So in September 1914 they advance more than 20km into French territory, moving from Bois-le-Prêtre to Les Eparges, via St Mihiel. This corner of France (the St Mihiel Salient) remains under German control until the Americans come in 1918, despite several bloody French effensives in the intermittent years. After September 1914, the main French goal will be to try to get back the terrain taken by the Germans, and reduce the surface area of the Salient. The Bois d'Ailly and the Tranchée de la Soif (Trench of Thirst) bear witness to the suffering of Commander André's men, forced to surrender to the Germans in May 1915 because they had neither food nor water. Marbotte Church became a makeshift hospital, providing shelter for so many injured and dying soldiers that its floor was stained red with blood. The Bois Brûlé (The Burned Forest) is one of the places that best represents battles above ground: it also reveals the proximity of the French and German troops. It is also here that Sergeant Péricard commanded, "Debout les morts!" ("Dead men, Rise!") on 8th April 1915. In the Bavarois and Roffignac trenches, you can follow the soldiers' footsteps, climb the firing banks, and look through the openings. This is no ordinary place: it's a battlefield, and deserves your respect.
Association Nationale Le Saillant de St Mihiel 71, rue du Dr Vuillaume 55300 St Mihiel Tél. : 03 29 90 90 07 Regional Tourist Board Tel: 00 33 (0)3 29 45 78 40 b]Conseil Général de la Meuse[/b] Hôtel du Département Place Pierre-François Gossin 55012 Bar-le-Duc cedex Tel: 00 33 (0)3 29 45 77 55 Contact Office de Tourisme de Saint-Mihiel Rue du Palais de Justice 55300 Saint-Mihiel Tel./Fax : 00 33 (0)3 29 89 06 47 Email: otsi.saint-mihiel@wanadoo.fr Information Four memorial platforms indicate remnants from the Great War. The boards and milestones located in car parks and in the forest (30 min. per platform, follow the arrows) also provide you with information. You can visit at any time, and entry is free. Guided Tours upon reservation. A free map of all the 14-18 sites open to the public is available at all the sites and at Meuse tourist information offices.

Le Mémorial de Verdun, créé par les anciens combattants sous l’égide de Maurice Genevoix, est au cœur du Champ de bataille de Verdun. Entièrement rénové en 2016, ce musée propose une immersion dans la bataille. Grâce à une collection unique et des dispositifs audiovisuels exceptionnels, ce lieu historique permet aux visiteurs d’approcher l’expérience vécue par les soldats, français comme allemands, sur le Champ de bataille de Verdun. Le Mémorial de Verdun est le musée le plus moderne dédié à la Grande Guerre, fréquenté par plus de 140 000 visiteurs chaque année.

Memory traces La Meuse was no stranger to the battles of the First World War. Our "sad souls" are Verdun, the Argonne, Les Eparges, the St Mihiel Salient... taking the time to discover them and understand them means that the memory of all the men that died here will live on. As the years pass, this duty to remember has become a duty to recount what happened. The Saint-Mihiel Salient forms in September 1914, and the French try to shrink its size in the years that follow. Violent battles, originally above ground but then in the mines, take place in Les Eparges, the ridge that marked the northwest border of the Salient. The French lead an assault on Les Eparges on 17th February 1915, hoping to reduce the size of the St Mihiel Salient. German counter-attacks follow immediately afterwards, and the Germans take back the land. Bitter battles follow, both above ground and, more often, in the mines. On 9th and 10th April 1915, a battalion of the Eighth Infantry Regiment takes the eastern spur of Les Epargnes (Point X). But the battles have only just begun: on 24th April 1915, von Stanz launches an attack on Les Epargnes from the Calonne trench. To the west of the battlefield, the village remains French. But it comes under the fire of the enemy's top marksmen, and little by little it falls.The ridge itself is destroyed by mines; the craters stretch from point C to point X, and both are marked with a monument. The battles continue in the months that follow, and are sometimes more intense, sometimes less so. Les Eparges is not liberated until September 1918, when the first American troops to arrive take back the Salient for the French. By 14 September 1918, the Americans have reached Fresnes-en-Woëvre : Les Eparges is no longer in German hands.

Trottoir National Necropolis Stretching below the celebrated mound, this necropolis extends against a background of fir trees. It holds 2108 tombs, including ten Muslim steles, and an ossuary housing 852 bodies. The cemetery, which was built during the war, the remains of the soldiers killed in the forest and at Marquanterre. It was entirely renovated in 1958.
106th Infantry Regiment Monument If the visitor follows the path to the top of the hill, he or she will come across a monument at the top of the stairs, set against the trees. This work, by sculptor Maxime Real Del Sarte, was built to commemorate the glory of the "Ghosts of the 106th Infantry Regiment." It looks like an irregular pyramid topped with a human head. Severed hands, skulls and crosses evoke the suffering of all those who fought on these bloody slopes. A bronze bas-relief on the front shows a woman wearing a helmet, in a pose reminiscient of the classical Pieta.
Engineers' Memorial Right at the top, the visitor will find a monument to the memory of the military engineers who suffered great losses during the mine war. A semi-circular double wall stretches behind seven concrete sheet piles. On one side is the dedication, on the other the symbol of engineering.
Monument at Point X At the far eastern of the ridge, where it dominates the Woëvre plain for more than 100m, is a monument placed at the end of a short esplanade. The wall surfaces that form it slope sharply, and it is topped with a triangular fronton. A cross above an altar is engraved on one face; on the other is a bas-relief in which a bare-headed officer leads his men into battle. This fine piece, by the sculptor Fischer, is dedicated "à ceux qui n'ont pas de tombe" (to those without a grave). Signs and benches add the finishing touches.
302nd Infantry Regiment Monument Next to the Monument at Point X, on the cusp of a crater, is a little stone wall bearing a plaque adorned with a croix de guerre and a plaque that reads: "302e R.I. 20 Septembre 1914, 21 Mars 1915. Les Anciens des 302e et 102e R.I." (302nd Infantry Regiment 20 September 1914, 20 March 1915. Veterans of the 302nd and 102nd Infantry Regiments).
Les Eparges is always open, and entrance is free. Informative panels help you better understand the site's history, and there is a marked pathway managed by the ONF and Association Nationale du Souvenir de la Bataille de Verdun et de ses Hauts-Lieux. Following this pathway allows you to walk in the footsteps of the soldiers who fought here. Groups and tours available upon reservation. Contact Pays d'Accueil Touristique des Côtes de Meuse Place Taylord 55210 Vigneulles-les-Hattonchatel Tel-fax: 03 29 90 08 55 Tel-fax: 03 29 90 04 29 Tourist Office Tel: 00 33 (0)3 29 86 14 18 Regional Tourism Board Tel: 00 33 (0)3 29 45 78 40

Froideterre Platform

Part of the entrenched camp of Verdun, Froideterre cordonned of the northern edge of the town between the Meuse valley and the hills on the right banks. It was designed as a centre for resistance, and is a great example of the variety of features and levels possible within a permanent fortification. The traces that remain also show how important these were during the crucial phases of the summer of 1916. Froideterre fortification , on the Meuse-Douaumont ridge, was key to the defence system. Surrounded by a stream, and boasting a concrete bunker and turrets or casemates for its artillery, it could flank the neighbouring fortifications at Charny and Thiaumont, support the units, and ensure its own defence. Its efficacy was enhanced by features that helped the infantry on guard, positioned at intervals along the wall. Concrete parapets (entrenchments X and Y) both sheltered marksmen as they stood and provided gun cover for the hill's exteriors flanks. Set slightly back from the military ridge, battle shelters hidden in the folds of the hillside were designed to protect the section's infantry soldiers from artillery fire. The concrete arches of these refuges contained arms, and played a vital role in battle. Elsewhere, logistical systems were hidden in the flanks of the ravines, containing food supplies. Like all places likely to come under shell attack, these shelters and storehouses became command posts or makeshift emergency rooms during battle, and served as precarious shelters for the units in charge of defending the ridge. The ventilation chimneys of the Quatre Cheminées cave shelter, which was planned to lodge reserve troops and supplies, were buried under 8m of rock. Buried in the same hillside, a little storeroom hid the masonry at its entranceway. It, along with the section's magazines, ensured that ammunition was supplied to the artillery batteries (like MF3) located far from the town. A network of stone pathways and narrow gauge railways linked this section, like all those on the belt, to the fortified town to allow artillery cannons to be moved, ammunition to be brought from the arsenal, and foodstuffs, supplies and accessories to be transported. The unprecedented bombing that accompanied the offensives at Verdun not only destroyed the fortifications' superstructure and access points, but also repeatedly killed communication with the outside world. The narrow liaison tunnels, filled with debris and dead bodies, had to be used instead of the path. Located opposite the Quatre Cheminées shelter, the ravin des Vignes, became a new artery for a front that kept gobbling up men and supplies. It was crisscrossed with these precarious alleys, which the artillery took for targets during the changing of the guard. To maintain the fragile link between the front lines and the shelters, they needed liaison officers, "runners" thrown into the fray of bombing and the barrage of gunfire - few of them managed to make it alive. In the end, they had to resort to flares to inform the artillery and ask them for help, hoping that in the midst of all the gunfire, their shot would spare their own men.

Last Judgement at Verdun

After their major attacks on 21 February, 10 April and 25 May 1916, the Germans occupied the elevated côte du Poivre and the côte des Chambrettes on the right bank of the Meuse, as well as Fort Douaumont, a particularly important vantage point which was to become an essential part of the enemy's logistical plan. On 7 June, the enemy got as far as the defending ranks on the Fort Vaux, and those on the front lines reached the Eastern slopes of the high ridge punctuated by Thiaumont, the ruins of Fleury village and the Fort Souville. If the Germans managed ito take this ridge, their artillery would be able to fire straight at Verdun and the bridges over the Meuse from less than 5000m away, thus putting the French in grave danger. If, on the other hand, the ridge remained French, then not only would it be possible to defend the right bank, as Commander in Chief Joffre ordered, but it might also be possible to counter-attack and take back the forts at Vaux and Douaumont.

While the obdurate enemy charged to take the Thiaumont-Fleury-Souville ridge, the period from June to September constituted "the last judgement at Verdun," a horrible drama in which the epic, partially destroyed (1) Fort of Souville saved the day no fewer than three times. On 23 June, when the violent German offensive began, Souville dominated and flanked the entire combat zone. The French artillery used it as a look-out post from which to barrage the blocked enemy infantry with projectiles. On 11 July at dawn, the Germans charged at Souville. They did the same on the 12th, and got as far as the fort. Thanks to the artillery and the counter-attacks of the 7th Regiment and the 25th Batallion of Light Infantrymen, the few enemy soldiers that actually reached the fort were imprisoned. Souville escaped German clutches. The parallel ridges of Froideterre and Souville - Thiaumont and Froideterre on the one hand, the Forts of Vaux and Souville on the other - all played a major role in directing the enemy attack. Once Thiaumont was taken, the enemy effort ground to a halt on Froideterre. Fort Vaux fell to the Germans on 7 June, but on 11 and 12 July, Souville came to the rescue once again. Once Fleury was taken, the Germans rushed to take advantage of the ravines at la Poudrière, but because Froideterre and Souville were still in the hands of the French, it was impossible for them to capitalize on their success: they were threatened on all sides. This month-long battle for Souville-Fleury-Thiaumont revealed the vital role of permanent fortifications in the Battle of Verdun. And it was thanks to the combination of the extraordinary resilience of Verdun's "poilu" soldiers and the energy of the high command that this battle was won and Verdun saved. (1) From 21 June on, it was subject to daily attacks that gravely crippled its defences.

Souville's fortified massif A complete defence system

Captain Gustave de la Taille, the ingenious officer who built this fort, gave it the name of the Loiret village -- Souville -- in which his ancestor, Bertrand de la Taille, groom to the Lord of Souville, had been laid to rest in 1319. In 1916, this massif consisted of: Fort Souville: situated at 388m above sea level (at precisely the same altitude as the Fort Douaumont), and built between 1875 and 1879 from limestone covered with 3-5m of earth. The ditches that surrounded it featured built-in scarps and counterscarps, flanked by caponniers armed with revolver cannons and 12 tonne breechblock canons. In 1889, the whole thing was wrapped in barbed wire 30m thick. It was one of the Séré des Rivières belt's "first generation" forts, like those at Belleville, Saint Michel and Tavannes. In 1888, the gunpowder magazine was reinforced with 2.5m of concrete and a 1m thick layer of sand. Connecting passageways were built, as well as six 18m by 5m shelters, each protected by an 8m thick layer of blocks made from rock, marl, and loose stones. The fort housed the district's telephone exchange, consisting of two underground lead circuits that connected it to Fort Douaumont and the fortification at Thiaumont, plus two overhead cables linking other forts and the Verdun citadel exchange. Before conflict began, there were plans to establish a communication system for clear days, using lights, with the fortified town of Longwy, more than 35km away as the crow flies
An organic garrison: 2 infantry troops, 2 artillery sections, reinforcement gun crews for sixteen machine guns and various service personnel indispensable to the life of the fort. In peacetime, the fort was accessed via a gravel path -- named "le chemin de Souville," it is still in use today. It leads to the drawbridge of the wartime entrance, an underground shelter with room for 300 seated men. Serpentine back alleys lead from this introductory path, winding out of the path of gunfire. A Bussière system eclipse gun turret for two 155 mm canons, built in 1890-1891 150 metres west of the fort. Around 600 shells were fired from this turret between 24 February and 6 March 1916, but when one of its two tubes exploded on 10 April of the same year, it was decommissioned. It was March 1917 before it was back in action, now just a single tube powered by a twelve horsepower electric motor instead of the original steam one. From this time on, the turret was linked to the fort and the emergency exit via a 140m long bombproof alley. A De Bange 155 terraced fortress battery built in 1882, with built-in recessed niches for weaponry half a metre thick. The niches faced West, and were situated about 100m from the Bussière turret. Some remains of the battery can still be seen today and are indicated on the massif's discovery trail, which begins at the memorial.
Criss-crossing alleys form a communication network that can still be seen all over the fortification -- it ensures that relief soldiers can arrive, the injured can be taken to safety, food supplies, arms and equipment can arrive. The network begins both at the Marceau barracks (one of the entrances to the battlefield) towards Souville and at the village of Fleury, then heads for the river and the village of Vaux (the Carrières alley), the Vaux Régnier, Fumin woods and Fort Vaux. It means that even without underground passageways, there are internal connections at the heart of the massif between the fort, the 155mm gun turret and the fortress battery. In May and June 1916, it comes under attack from 380 mm (750 kg) and 420 mm (1 000 kg) shells, which destroy all the stone spaces, the caponniers, the barbed wire fence, the five 90mm carriage cannons and two 15mm mortars. Afterwards, the defenders and lookouts have to occupy the holes made by the shells, and are totally unprotected. After the Battle of Verdun is over, major work begins to restore the fortified massif at Souville: wells yielding 1 500 litres a day, underground shelters linked by tunnels, lined with 10 to 15 metres of protective compacted marl, a 140m tunnel linking the fort to the renovated 155mm gun turret, with a 12 horsepower electric motor replacing the previous slow and complicated steam system, an emergency exit for the 155mm gun turret with a Digoin concrete observation post. It is surrounded by a barbed wire fence between 20 and 30 m thick. In 1917, three Pamart casemates weighing 2.5 tonnes with 14cm shields are installed on the fort's slopes for its imminent defence. These fixed gun turrets cannot be withdrawn, and each one features two carriage-mounted machine guns. Because of their design, they have a 160 degree range, less than that of the 1900 model machine gun turret (360 degrees). However, their more modest dimensions and weight mean that they are easier to build and to install during a campaign on the particularly troubled terrain of Verdun. They are also more reliable than the eclipse gun turret, which often gets blocked by rubble when shells explode.

1917: Making the forts stronger

Developed during the war by Commander Pamart serving at Fort Génicourt, these machine gun casemates were also built and installed in the heat of the battle, from 1917 on, to enhance the firepower of several forts and ensure their defence. In 1917, three of these casemates were installed at Fort Souville for the imminent defence of the glacis. They weighed 2.5 tonnes apiece, providing a 14cm shield. Each of them featured two carriage-mounted machine guns with a small arm range of 160 degrees, less than that of the 1900 model machine gun turrets, two of which can be seen on the Froideterre fortification. The Pamart casemate could not be withdrawn; however, their more modest dimensions and weight meant that they were easier to build and to install during a campaign on the troubled terrain of Verdun. They were also more reliable than the eclipse gun turret, which often got blocked by rubble when shells exploded. The Pamart casemate had two small openings at or close to floor level which could be filled with metallic plugs. Inside, two superimposed Hotchkiss machine guns alternated firing. One fired through one of the two openings while the other waited below. Simply by rotating the guns, the sniper could charge one gun while firing the other. The machine gun cannon being fired projected 30cm out from the opening. A ventilator assured that the air was breathable inside the casemate, pushing combustion gases outside. Some casemates had two blockable holes in the roof for a periscope.
Practical Information:

21-22 February 1916

The orders were to keep going until the end. They had been obeyed. The deputy for Drancy, Colonel Driant, asked to join the front as appropriate to his rank and is put in charge of a half-brigade making up a corps of two battalions of chasseurs: the 56th and the 59th reservist battalions, north of Verdun. Driant, a politician as well as an officer, always spoke his mind, and wasted no time observing and commenting on the organization of the Verdun section. Not that his comments stopped the attempts to dismantle the fortifications of the town, even though intermediary positions had barely been considered. Commanding his chasseurs with an affected simplicity that was not without rigour, he could do nothing but organize his section and wait for a storm that, with cruel clarity, he had foreseen. From 20 January, Driant had been talking about this final test in his agenda to his half-brigade. Here is that text, with the lines that predict the unprecedented form that the battle to come will take underlined. Agenda - 20 January 1916 "The time has come for the two battalions to prepare themselves for action, and for every man to think about the role that has fallen to him. It is imperative at every level we have that in a battle as piecemeal as the one ahead, not one man uses the lack of orders as an excuse to do nothing". Communication was frequently interrupted, and soldiers often found themselves left to their own devices. Resisting and stopping the enemy by any means necessary had to be the predominant thought in the minds of each and every chausseur, especially when they were reminded that only the injured had been left in the hands of the enemy in any of the battles they'd been in over the past 17 months. The chausseurs did not surrender. On February 21, he got up early and looked up at a dazzling sun in a magnificent sky. He took off his wedding ring and gave it to his secretary. "If I'm killed, please bring this to Madame Driant." He mounted his horse at Bois des Caures, and was followed by his groom. It was 6.45am, and he went to the worksite where a reserve company under the leadership of Lieutenant Leroy and Lieutenant Simon were building a tunnel. He made them stop their work and sent them to the battlefield. While he was talking with a couple of officers, the first shell exploded: the tragedy had begun. The humid terrain of Bois des Caures (in local patois, caures means hazelnut tree) was not easily adapted to being hollowed out for such heavily trafficked trenches. The 56th and the 59th BCP had organized a system of redoubts, but their tragic weakness was gabionade. This was the state of play when he experienced the shock of February 21, 1916. The Bois des Caures and the bois d'Haumont to its left were right in the Germans' offensive axis. The bombing destroyed the fragile entrenched positions in the face of 150, 210 and 305. Driant himself had even written the night before, "they might attack tonight or they might wait another few days."

The Battle of Verdun Begins

By February 1916, Lieutenant-Colonel Driant's group of chausseurs had been occupying the Bois des Caures section since November. The group was made of the 56th reservist battalion (Captain Vincent) and the 59th reservist battalion (Commander Renouard). For several weeks, on the orders of Driant (who wanted an attack to be imminent), the two battalions had been alternating on the front, strengthening their positions and improving their defences. At 7am on 21 February 1916, the first shell was fired on the forest and Driant, knowing that the time for sacrifice had come, appeared amidst his chasseurs. He was never to leave them again. The bombing became so intense that the entire battlefield was covered in mines. From 10am, it was impossible, total chaos. At 5pm the bombing suddenly stopped, then firing began again, extended this time. It was rapid fire, often hand-to-hand combat. Despite extraordinary displays of heroism, several trenches were taken. By nightfall, the enemy had control of some of the front trenches. But chasseurs from Robin's company counter-attacked in the cold night, took back their trenches and sowed panic in the hearts of the Germans, who thought that the chausseurs had all been taken out of combat. Colonel Driant toured the section around midnight, going to the farthest trenches to encourage each and every one of his men.
On morning of February 22, while the chasseurs were taking back the trenches they lost the previous night, they were also within grenade range of the enemy. At 7am, bombing began, as intense as it was the day before. At midday it stopped. The surviving chasseurs ran to their posts. Their Colonel was amongst them, he took a gun and fired the first shot. The Bois de Caures could no longer serve for cover. It was surrounded by the enemy. Three companies at the front were taken down by two regiments and died at their posts. Seguin's company worked wonders. They fought with grenades until they were all gone, then with stones, then with the butts of their revolvers. At 1pm, there was a fresh attack. Driant, still with a gun in his hand,was atop his command post with his liasion officers. He was on top form. A superior marksman, he announced the results of the combat and aiming errors. SIMON's company counter-attacked, even taking prisoners. At 4pm, only about 80 men remained around Colonel Driant, Commander Renouard and Captain Vincent. Suddenly, shells started coming from behind. So the Bois de Caures was taken. It was the end. In the hope that he could continue to fight elsewhere, rather than going to prison, Colonel Driant decided to retreat behind the wood. They left in three groups -- the Colonel's group contained the liaison officers and the telegraphers. Everyone forced himself to jump from shell hole to shell hole, while a German 77 fired the whole time. The Colonel walked calmly, taking the rear, with his cane in his hand. He had just put a temporary bandage on a wounded chasseur when he is hit by a shower of bullets. "Oh my! My God!" he shouts. The Minister for Nancy was brought down by the enemy on this patch of Lorraine soil. Of the 1200 chausseurs in Driant's charge who fought against the 18th German army corps, only about 100 remain. The Krönprinz was expecting the battle to last just a few hours. This unforeseen two day setback gave the reserves time to arrive. Verdun would not fall. This commemorative plaque was a gift from the "Lieutenant Colonel Driant" class from Saint-Cyr on the occasion of their 20th anniversary and the 70th anniversary of their patron's death.

Battles of the Right Bank 1874-1914 - Verdun: border town

Verdun, transformed into border post when Alsace-Lorraine is annexed in 1871, quickly became the key piece in General Séré de Rivière's plan of defence for the eastern border. The elevated areas around the town and its strong but diminutive citadel were doubly fortified between 1874 and 1914 with concrete shells and armour-clad turrets. The main structure extended over a permitre of 45 km, consisting of forts and fortifications. Smaller elements punctuated the landscape (combat shelters, ammunition magazines, entrenchments, artillery positions) offered support. This impenetrable shield held around 66 000 men during wartime, boasted 185km of narrow military rail track, houses barracks, arsenals, training grounds, an airship park and an airforce camp. While pivotal to the French war effort in 1914, it was largely stripped of its defences the following year, when the Germans launched the "judgement" offensive -- a quick, brutal, and decisive blow.

1916 - Verdun, a ten-month battle

For 300 days and 300 nights, on the little pocket of fortified land known as the Hauts de Meuse, the largest battle history had ever known brought together humans and materials in numbers never before seen, and constituted a turning point in the Great War. It was here, in this hellish crucible constantly bombarded by 60 million shells, where 300 000 men died or disappeared and 450 000 were injured, that the soldier at Verdun lived and died. French and German, alone or in small groups, abandoned in shell holes filled with dead bodies, poorly nourished, faced with cold, thirst, and mud, with fear, with madness and dispair for company and orders simply to attack or defend. From 21 February on, the shower of "Trommelfeuer" shells hacked at the French positions. In the destroyed Bois des Caures, even a 36 hour long fight could not stop the assault. On 25 February, Fort Douaumont was taken. The situation became critical, and the likely fall of Verdun caused the last remaining civilians to make their escape. On the 26th, the newly appointed General Pétain decided to fight a defensive battle on site: he reorganised positions, rearmed the forts, and sent men and supplies to the front via the Voie Sacrée. The offensive was limited by the desperate sacrifices of soldiers, and ran out of steam. In March, Falkenhay, the German commander in chief, increased his attack on the left bank: there was an intense battle at Avocourt, on the slopes of Mort-Homme and Cote 304. On the other bank, on those sections of Vaux and Caillette whose bitterly fought ravines came to be known as "ravines of death," the front wavered but did not cede. Cote 304 and the lines of defence at Mort-Homme and Cumières were taken in May, but every metre lost or gained iwas done so at the cost of massive losses of life. Fort Vaux, which is attacked on 9 March and taken on 7 June, instigates a death cry that quickly reaches the Franco-British offensive on the Somme. On 23 June, 50 000 German soldiers marched on the final hills leading to Verdun, occupiemont Thiaumont and the destroyed town of Fleury but fail to take Froideterre. On the 11 and 12 July, at the same time as the offensive was launched on the Somme, a final German attack came to an end outside Fort Vaux, just 4km from Verdun. This confirms the impossibility of predicting the final outcome of this war. Once the German offensive had been stopped, the other side took the initiative. Fleury was retaken on 17 August, and throughout the autumn the attempts to reconquer meant that danger was redirected away from Verdun. Fort Douaumont was reclaimed on 24 October, Vaux on 2 November. By December, most of the lost terrain had been retaken. But it would take another two years, and the support of the Americans in 1918, to get the front back to the Bois des Caures.

From the Argonne to Saint-Mihiel, four years "under Verdun"

From the Argonne to Saint-Mihiel, four years "under Verdun" The war was developing in the Meuse as early as August 1914, circumnavigating then isolating the fortified town of Verdun. After the terrible affair at Vaubécourt-la-Vaux-Marie on 10 September, the front was positioned on the Argonne's barrier massif. The violent battles at Hauts de Meuse between the 20th and the 25th led to a Salient being built around Saint-Mihiel, cutting off the Meuse and its roads and rail 30km from Verdun. Resistance at Fort Troyon meant that it could not be totally surrounded. For four years, the "hills," ridges and mounds around Verdun were the site of horrific battles. Underground, in the earth at Eparges and Vauquois, enormous funnels bear witness to the mine war and the explosions that swallowed up men and trenches alike. Only in the autumn of 1918, when two American offensives and the sacrifice of 120 000 "Sammies" loosens the net, could the Saint-Mihiel Salient be retaken and the Meuse-Argonne region come back under French control.

LeDriant's many graves

According to the 23 March 1916 report of chasseur Paul Coisne of the 56th reservist battalion, interned at Camp Cassel and witness to Lieutenant-Colonel Driant's final moments, his last words were "Oh ! là, là, mon Dieu !" ("Oh my! My God!")
Baronness Schrotter of Wiesbaden sent a condolence letter to Madame Driant via a Swiss intermediary on 16th March 1916. She wrote: "My son, an Artillery Lieutenant who fought next to your husband, asked me to write to you and to tell you that Monsieur Driant has been buried with every respect and every care, and that his enemy comrades dug him a handsome grave, and decorated it (...). They are going to look after the grave, so that you will be able to visit it when peace comes (...)". Maurice Barrès, quoting this letter dated 9th March 1916, wrote the following in the Echo de Paris: "Here is the German letter that ends the life of a great French man." Lieutenant-Colonel Driant is remembered with pride in the Tomb of the Brave at the musée des Chasseurs, which is housed at the service historique de l'armée de terre at Vincennes. The story of Driant's many graves is a complicated one. After his death, the Germans buried him on the battlefield. It wasn't until 9th August 1919 that he was exhumed, identified and then buried again at the same location. He was exhumed again on 9th October 1922, with the aim of transporting his body to the Bois des Caures monument. This happened on 21st October, the day before the monument was inaugurated.

Ornes - Patois: Ioûme Population : in 1803 : 1,035 inhabitants in 1851 : 1,316 inhabitants in 1901 : 861 inhabitants Distances : 11 kilometres North-East of Charny sur Meuse 16 kilometres North-North-East of Verdun Patron Saint's Day 29th September {Saint Michel) Commemoration Day last Sunday in August History This large village, often considered a town, was located at the bottom of a narrow, high-sided valley that separates the Meuse basin from the Woëvre, and at the source of the Orne, the river to which it gave its name; the upper part of the town bore the patois name S'moûne (Somme-Orne). Mention is made of "Orna in Wapria" in 1015 in the cartulary of Saint-Vanne. Ornes, capital of the ancient "pagus Orninsis", was already a significant place in the Merovingian era. It went on to become a barony and the first of the four peerages of the diocese of Verdun (Ornes, Murault, Creuë and Watronville). The freedom charter of the village granted under the law of Beaumont in 1252 by the Chapter of the Madeleine de Verdun and Jacques, Lord of Ornes and peer of the diocese, proves that at that date, the domain was still shared between these men; later, the Chapter owned no more of the place than a territorial income estimated at 1,376 pounds in 1790. There used to be a feudal castle at Ornes, the lords of which often used it to worry the Bishops of Verdun. The "House of Ornes", whose name and arms passed into those of "Nettancourt", consisted of: five red rings arranged in a cross on a silver background. Around the year 1563, the seigneur of Ornes showed himself to be a committed proponent of the Protestant faith. Bishop Psaulme had to resort to force of arms to force his tenant to send away a minister of the new faith who was serving in the castle chapel. In 1587, the area around Ornes was the stage for a bloody battle, between the Calvinist troops from the Jametz garrison, commanded by de Schelandre, and those of the Dike of Lorraine; the latter were beaten and 25 of their men were killed with around thirty taken prisoner. In February 1653, Orne castle was taken by troops from Lorraine, "to the ruin and desolation of the inhabitants of the aforementioned place and many villages in the surrounding area who had stored their possessions for safekeeping in the castle." Trade and industry: 3 mills, cotton weaving employing around 30 workers, distilleries, basket weaving, fruit trading, 2 fairs: 30th August and 15th September Outlying: The Moulin des Prés, a mill located 1,200 metres from Ornes, Les Chambrettes, a farm 3 kilometres away. In olden times this was a village whose Parish Church was answerable to Saint Maur as far back as 1046. (Excerpt from: The Geography of the Département of the Meuse - H. Lemoine -1909)

In 1913, the Meuse directory gives us the following information 718 inhabitants Butcher: Péridon E. Baker: Lajoux Tobacconist: Remy Cartwrights: Bourcier - Lefèvre Cockle gatherers: Colson Maria - Gillet - Lelaurain - Maillot - Mouteaux Alexis - Widow Simon Cobblers: Odin - Pricot-Paquin - Parent Bars : Widow Bernard - Cléandre Alph. - Deville-Cochenet - Legardeur - Péridon-Gille - Paul E. Distillers : Deville-Bertrand - Legardeur-Cochenet - Molinet V. - Rollin Z. - Lajoux Aimé Medical Doctor: M. Simonin H. Grocers-Haberdashers: Widow Briy - Cugnet-Marie - Lajoux A. - Paul-Maillot Workers' accommodation in the north-east run by M. Genoux Fruiterers: Bertrand J. - Jacquart E. Hoteliers: Cléandre A.- Thalmé Yeast merchants: Widow Bauert- M. Gillet Blacksmiths: Désoudin - Legay Millers: Deville V. - Louppe Fishmongers: Lajoux A. 6 Mouteaux Saddler: Belloy L. Tailors: Mme Charton-Lecourtier - M. Chrétien-Saintin - Humbert Eug. - Saillet A. Clothmakers: Poincelet-Meunier - Rémy - Schemouder Basket-maker: Lajoux A. Wine and spirit merchants: Bertrand-Colson - Domange Owner-farmers: Deville M. - Widow Férée T. - Laurent A. - Laurent H. - Lamorlette P. - Lecourtier A - Lecourtier J.G. - Lecourtier L. - Lecourtier V. - Ligier F. - Louppe L. - Gillet - Nicaise V. - Widow Simonet Notables and persons of private means: Férée E. - Dormois C. - Deville M. -Lajoux H.
From the beginning of 1916, all these inhabitants were to discover the violence of modern warfare. With their property damaged, they were forced to flee. And it was only with the hope in their hearts of "one day returning home" that they were able to force themselves to abandon their heritage. For these men and women were fiercely attached to their land, unfertile as it may have been, having long demanded hard toil, but which - for all that - was no less the land in which their roots grew. In the misery of their time as refugees, the prospect of once again finding the happiness of the old days provided precious support.
1919 - After the war Alas, in 1918 the reality was very different, the aftermath of the fighting was too severe, the risk of explosions too great to hope for reconstruction. This landscape of desolation could no longer be a welcoming haven. There was nothing left for them, apart from the dismay to which they would try to find a cure by working for national recognition and the survival of their community through the law. Thus, they put pressure on local elected representatives, on parliament and on ministers, even speaking to Raymond Poincaré, originally from the Meuse area and President of the Republic. Measures were taken. From 1939, a law granted each destroyed village a municipal commission and a chairman whose powers and privileges were those of a mayor. Between the wars, a chapel/shelter was built as well as a monument to the dead where, as in every commune in France, the names of their children who died for their country were inscribed as well as the wording of the mention in dispatches conferred by government decree. Three times a day, the Angelus reminds visitors that on this site covered by forest, where the stones of memory stand, villagers once lived a Christian life.

Initially a private collection, this project grew to such an extent that it turned into a veritable museum overseen by the “Mémoire des combattants en Gascogne” (Memory of the Gascony Fighters) association.

From the beginning, the founders placed their museum space at the crossroads of remembrance and the memory of contemporary conflicts.

The choice was thus made to offer visitors a historical journey through the two World Wars.

The museum chronologically presents the evolution of soldiers’ arms and uniforms from the Great War to the Résistance.

This undertaking is unique in the Gers department and presents widely diverse collections for the pleasure and interest of all:

front pages of newspapers, photos, posters, letters, brassards, containers, arms, uniforms, etc.

Visits and admission price: The museum is open year-round to all, free of charge, by appointment.

Musée des anciens combattants pour la liberté

Museum of the veterans of the fight for freedom:

Malherbe - 32500 Brugnens - Tel.: +33 (0)5 62 06 14 51

Association “Mémoire des combattants en Gascogne”

“Memory of the Gascony Fighters” Association:

Tel.: +33 (0)5 62 06 62 06

e-mail: elian.dasilva@wanadoo.fr

e-mail: xavier.da-silva@orange.fr

Office National des Anciens Combattants du Gers

Gers National Office of Veterans:

29, chemin de Baron – 32000 Auch – Tel.: +33 (0)5 62 05 01 32 – Fax: +33 (0)5 62 05 51 05

e-mail: dir.sd32@onacvg.fr